A Rare Sight
by DinoDina
Summary: Regulus is a bird-watcher and Barty is in the woods for some reason. Barty/Regulus slash oneshot. Written for Last Ship Sailing on HPFC.


**Written for the Last Ship Sailing Competition  
** **Pairing:** Barty/Regulus  
 **Prompts:** 4\. setting: lake, 6. word: smoke, 7. word: weakness, 9. object: binoculars, 10. color: magenta  
 **Bonus Prompts:** 1\. dialogue: "There's no need to be so rude.", 2. curse: Imperius Curse, 3. color: grey, 4. object: Knut, 5. emotion: nostalgia  
 **Words:** 1438

 **Thanks to Rachel and** abbytemple **for beta-ing!**

Regulus buttoned up his jacket against a sudden onslaught of wind. When it returned and attacked his hair, he tied it up, albeit grudgingly. He bent down and tied his shoes, then grabbed his binoculars from where they hung next to the door. He slung them over his neck and stuffed a map into one of his jacket pockets. His wand went into the pocket of his trousers.

Locking the door of his cabin with both the manual lock and a locking spell, Regulus walked down his porch and off into the woods.

The wind persisted in accompanying him. The dry leaves on the ground flew up as more fell from the trees; it really was the middle of autumn. And, it being the middle of autumn, Regulus was the only one in the forest that he was aware of.

 _Why'd I bother to do this again?_ he asked himself. _Oh, yeah. I hate people._

It was a very broad statement, and a very final one. If he was being honest with himself, it wasn't a true one, either. But it was the one Regulus chose to use when asked about his questionable career choice: bird-watching.

And yes, for the heir to a rich and prestigious pureblood family, it was a rather strange choice. But it wasn't his strangest decision. No, that would have to be bird-watching when all the birds had already migrated.

He walked along the forest path for another few minutes before turning off into the underbrush. From there, it only took him two minutes to get to the edge of a large, clear lake. In the summertime, it was practically drowning in birds and swimmers. Now, Regulus was the only one on the sandy beach.

He lifted the binoculars to observe some geese in the sky. However, even with the binoculars, they were too far away to be of much interest. Still, Regulus looked at them until they completely disappeared from view.

In the warmer months, it was just him, the birds, and the occasional tourists in the woods, but he liked the solitude that the winter brought, even if he couldn't partake in his career and hobby. The birds weren't all gone yet, though, and he was determined to see as many of them as he could, of both magical and Muggle species.

Regulus lowered his binoculars and walked further along the shore. The water calmly lapped at the smooth, grey rocks and the breeze blew at his tied up hair. He stuck his hands in his pockets after several minutes, having forgotten to bring gloves; it was alright in the middle of the forest, but there was a stronger wind near the water.

It was only two more times that he lifted his binoculars; once to see a seagull and the other to watch several deer on the other shore. Despite the absence of birds-the very thing he was searching for-Regulus wasn't disappointed in his walk. On the contrary, he liked the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts.

It was something he hadn't had as a child, and assumed that the annoyances he'd had to deal with were what fueled his present desire for peace.

And, just as he was reminiscing on the rare times he'd been left alone in Grimmauld Place, Regulus noticed something, on the same shore as he was, probably about 200 meters away. Through his binoculars, he clearly saw that it was smoke.

And, as any fool knew, there was no smoke without fire.

There was no fire without people, thus: Regulus wasn't alone.

He would have turned the other way, given his dislike of the general populace, but the shore curved just several meters ahead of him, and he couldn't see whoever was the cause of the fire. And despite his wariness of people, Regulus respected the forest as much as it respected him, and owed it a check up on the fire-starter.

Soon, he was near the fire.

Several rocks were laid out in a circle, and a small flame was dancing between them; the source of the smoke. The source of the fire wasn't too far away, either. It was a man; from where Regulus was standing, he would estimate that the stranger was about his own height, was wearing a garish jumper, and had limp, sandy hair.

The stranger, probably having heard Regulus's footsteps, turned around.

When he waved, Regulus returned it with a requisite smile. He was about to be on his way, since the man didn't look at all threatening, when he was beckoned closer. As much as he wanted to be on his way, his manners protested and he did as asked.

"Hello," the man said.

Now that Regulus was closer, he saw that the jumper was magenta. "Hello," he returned, politely looking at the man's face instead of at his clothes.

"How's your day?"

Regulus stared. He was out in the woods in the cold because he wanted to be alone. Surely, any other person there wanted the same thing! But, after that slight blunder, he said, "Very well, thank you."

"Mine's great, too," the guy grinned. He pointed at the binoculars around Regulus's neck. "Hey, you a bird-watcher?"

"Yes."

"That's… cool." He shrugged. "Not my thing really, kind of boring."

"There's no need to be so rude," Regulus pointed out with a frown. There was something familiar about the stranger, which undermined his theory of the guy being a stranger, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"It's just my opinion."

"Well, it insulted my profession and my hobby."

"I'm sorry." There was that damned grin again. The guy stood up. "Let's start again?"

"I'm sorry?"

The guy stuck his hand out. "My name's Barty Crouch, Jr., although it would be great if you forget about the junior bit."

"Regulus Black." They shook hands. "Although feel free to ignore the surname."

"Noted."

 _So_ , Regulus thought, _not a stranger after all._ He and Crouch, Jr. had known each other at Hogwarts, even if Crouch had been two years below him. He was a pleasant person, though, something Regulus had gathered through their minimal interactions, even if he could be painfully chipper.

"...we went to school together!"

 _Well, there was Crouch caught up,_ Regulus laughed internally as he tuned back into the conversation. "That we did."

"Sit down?" Crouch offered, pointing to one of two rocks. They were closer to the fire than he'd been sitting before. "Catch up, warm up a bit?"

"Yeah, alright," Regulus found himself nodding and following Crouch to sit.

"So how'd you end up way out here?" Crouch wondered. "Used to be Reg Black wouldn't be seen outside even if he'd been _Imperio_ 'd."

Regulus glared at the shortening of his name, remembering that Crouch had never called him by his full one. Still, his curiosity was genuine, and he replied, "It's nice and quiet. Sure, it gets a nippy in the winter, but the birds love me when they're here."

"I wouldn't be able to do that!" Crouch laughed. "Cold: that's my weakness. How do you stand it?"

"Used to it, I guess."

Crouch asked more about his career then, and Regulus talked about the birds he'd seen and how he'd had to battle a Cockatrice once. He described his cabin and the many warming spells he used in the winter, and then, to his own surprise, invited Crouch to visit it.

It was an easy conversation. He learned about Crouch's work with his father and how he'd eventually quit it. Now, he was drifting about, estranged from his family. He'd also began to call to him Barty, not only in conversation but in his own head.

It was the quickest Regulus had ever let his guard down, and it was one of the strangest things he'd ever done.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Barty offered when they were walking to his cabin, the fire extinguished and the morning breeze still blowing around them.

"Wondering if I can offer you any food."

"Can you?"

"You interrupted me; I couldn't get to that." Regulus laughed when Barty pouted at him. "So where's my Knut?"

Barty laughed back. "At my house."

"Oh, am I invited?" _He wanted to be invited, for Merlin's sake_. The thought hit Regulus like a bag of Galleons.

"Sure," Barty's laugh mellowed into a smile as the cabin came into view. "If you can prove you're worth it."

Regulus smiled back in a more teasing manner than he meant to. "I'm worth it."

Barty regarded him for a moment. Then, he nodded, almost to himself. "I think you are, too."


End file.
